I said I might have good news, and I do

So a couple of months ago, I was offered a PRN position with the scheduling department with which I'm currently working under contract. Unfortunately, it was determined that since I had been laid off from the company and received a severance, they could not hire me. Fast forward a couple of months. One of my co-workers left, and another took her position, leaving a full-time position open. I asked my supervisor if the prohibition had been for the PRN position only, or for any position, as I was interested in the open one. My boss said they'd been round and round on this, and that I should communicate my interest via e-mail. An appeal was made, based on 1) the fact that the position was in no way related to my former ones, being in a different department entirely with different duties, 2) the volume of work had increased exponentially since the move, so they didn't expect to need my help before moving, and 3) I've been doing the job anyway under contract for the entire summer and more. The appeal did work, yay, so we proceeded and I have been offered a full-time position with benefits, which I have accepted. Monday I sign some paperwork and do my drug test. So pending my drug test results and background check, I have a new job! Considering most of my severance has gone to paying for my health insurance (continued under COBRA) at $755 a month, this is great news. Also, I haven't been gone so long that my PTO will accrue at the same rate, giving me four weeks' time off a year. I'll learn about any other things on Monday. But I am very happy. In fact, Friday was a great day, due to that news and the fact that I did get paid, and could pay said health insurance, as I think I would have been down to about $10 after that otherwise.

So that's my news. I don't expect any kinks, but I can't say I'm officially hired until I go through those two things, and that may take a couple of weeks. But in the meantime, I'll still be doing my job every day under contract. :)

So, I've obviously been amiss at writing/blogging

I've been pretty much coming home, having a great meal, and relaxing a bit before bed, maybe listening to music, rather than getting on the computer. Sorry about that. But I've had to recharge well because we've had a lot (and I mean a lot) of patients come in this week, and it's been very, very busy. Today, though, I had an appointment and so I left at 1:30 pm. After the appointment, I made a couple of stops, came home, spent quite some time talking with a neighbour who is a co-worker's cousin and trying to organise a neighbourhood watch, and she told me about a meeting they're having on Monday nearby. Then I went in, ate a little something, and by 5 pm I was headed out to an appointment with my insurance agent, who likes his representatives to see clients at least once a year. That went well, I got a little refrigerator magnet out of it :), and then I stopped by the library to pick up a book I put on hold for YKWIA along with a couple for me.

Last night while looking up the said book on the library website, it reminded me to try using an application on my phone that they have partnered with, Libby, by Overdrive, which is a sort of one-stop shop for library e-Books and audiobooks. It was then that I discovered that there was one more, last, instalment of my beloved Amelia Peabody mysteries by Elizabeth Peters, called The Painted Queen. It had been finished by another writer, I presume, as the credits are for both Peters and her. So I borrowed it in Kindle format. Here's hoping I have some time over the next two weeks to read it. Of course, I have all the others, mostly in paperback but the later ones are in hardback. So eventually I'll buy one.

Okay, I know it hasn't been exciting, but I really should turn in for bed. However, I may have some good news to share in the next few days, so be sure to stay tuned. Good night!

So the roommate thing is working out pretty well

But since this is someone I have known for almost thirty years who is like a brother, it has its moments. Such as last night, when he was finished with what he was doing, I was heading for bed, and he had a rare moment of boredom. So he came and tried to get me to get up and do something with him, and he was teasing me, and found some of my lotion on the nightstand and put it on my hair. I managed to get it at least dry so that I could go on to bed without getting it on the pillow. In all fairness, he told me he was going to do it. A bored YKWIA is never good. Today, I'd gotten a shower, gotten the lotion out of my hair, gotten dressed, and was on the way to take my dirty clothes to the closet when I passed the hall closet which has the cat litter boxes inside, and an arm grabbed me from inside with a roar coming from within. Fortunately, while my heart skipped a beat and it did startle me, I didn't really get scared. The same person, years ago, when we were living in separate apartments with a connecting door that I unwisely, in retrospect, kept unlocked, had stood in my shower for a good 45 minutes one day, waiting for me to come home. At the time, I had a shower curtain that was all aquatic animals in the blue water. I came in from school (I was in college then), put my stuff down, went to the bathroom, peed, and then when I was finished, he jumped out of the shower at me.

On that occasion, I startled, bounced into a wall, bounced into another wall, pinged to the sink, and settled in a corner of the bathroom completely gibbering with screaming that lasted for quite some time. I screamed over and over and over for quite a while. He thought he'd broken me. To this day, when I live in my own home, I have a clear shower curtain. Fortunately, we have a clear glass shower door here. Now, of course, I remember it with amusement. I'm much better with these things now, which is good, as we live together. Ah. Have I mentioned that he is more than a little cat like?

It's been a relaxing weekend so far

Yesterday YKWIA and I did our own things, for the most part. He watched 'The Flash' and 'Arrow' on Netflix, and then listened to BBC radio plays with Peter Cushing and Vincent Price. He also took care of the empty boxed we'd saved from the move he needed for something and did some other things about the house. I got some medicine at the pharmacy, did a grocery run, did most of the laundry and some dishes, re-potted two African violets, gardened some outside, and then relaxed, listened to music, and did some reading. I am re-reading Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen R. Donaldson on the Kindle. I haven't read the third (and last) trilogy, so I thought I'd re-read the first two trilogies and then go forward with those. I'd already finished the game notes Friday night, so I had plenty of time on Saturday to do whatever I liked.

Today I got up early, took a shower (something I never got around to yesterday, which is rare), washed my bedding and then made the bed. I also took my medicine, ate, etc. I was cleaning the cat box when YKWIA got up (he'd gone to bed later than I did). He fed the animals and let the dogs out (we agreed that if I do it in the morning, it'll set a precedent where they'll bark, etc., and since I get up around 5:30 or 6 am on weekdays, that's too early for that. So far it's worked well. I find they'll come out, hopeful, but if I just ignore or maybe just pet them, they'll go back to bed. Well, the cat will stay and get loved on and follow me about, but he's mostly quieter and doesn't keep begging for food much.

We did get some very bad news last night. An acquaintance I hadn't seen in about 20 years tracked me down via Messenger and let me know that a mutual friend (the owner of the comic shop I'd worked for) now has stage IV colon and liver cancer. We'd fallen out of touch over the years. I told YKWIA (he'd known him better and for far longer) and got the address of someone who can let me know if we can help him in any way or see him, as this person is not on Facebook.

Brenda called today to cancel the game due to either a stomach bug or bad barbeque from yesterday. So we're not playing, and I have pretty much the rest of my day to do anything I want. She knows the person with cancer as well, so YKWIA told her what was going on and she was going to tell her husband, who also knows him. A little later, YKWIA called me into the other room. His Internet and phone were both out. I put the modem through a cycle, and it worked for a moment, then lost the connexion again. I called Spectrum and apparently, there is an outage in our area. Fortunately I can get on through the hotspot on my phone, but it's not good for videos, etc., due to a monthly cap of 5 GB.

There are only a couple of things I have to do today. One is to go get pen needles from the Kroger pharmacy, as I forgot to ask at mine yesterday, where I have the prescription. I also told YKWIA I would wash his popcorn bowl (and by that, I mean the top of a plastic cake safe, so it's pretty big). I'll do the few dishes that are left after I put away the ones I did yesterday.

I have to admit, I feel more relaxed here. I always used to feel rushed on the weekends, and when I was home, with all the stuff I hoarded, my apartment seemed oppressive. My room is cosy. My friend and I are getting along well, giving each other space, and have had no major problems as of yet. It's actually been pretty companionable. I really do feel like I'm home now.

Okay, I should go and do something. I think I'll do a little reading. I'm going to go to Kroger after the church rush. Hope you are having a pleasant weekend.

It was a pretty decent day

I was back at check-out at work because the woman who had been in that position is no longer employed there. So I'm doing the phones and check-out, in a very busy week, and I did pretty well. I handled check-out fine, even when it was really busy, although I got behind with the voicemails and barely answered any calls. But I did ask for help, and got it, instead of trying to do everything by myself and getting stressed out. So I consider that a win. My OCD sometimes interferes with my work in the fact that I have to get everything checked off my current list before I do things like take a break or leave. I'm learning to let that slide a bit.

When I got home, YKWIA was making a salad, cream of corn soup, and a lovely baked carrot dish. I'm going to be very spoilt soon with the home cooking. Additionally, my blood sugar has been running extremely normal of late, after I got over the actual move when it was running high because I was nowhere near a routine on my medicine and eating.

Now I'm sitting on the bed with the fans on, considering going to bed, even though it's pretty early. I have to get up rather early (about 6 am) to get to work on time. I just got off the phone with my friend whose lost dog I shared awhile back. It's been 9 weeks since Elvis disappeared, and she's having a hard time. I just wish she could find him, but it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. In this case, I wish he'd just come trotting home unharmed.

So I just wanted to update. I noticed my name is inside the mailbox courtesy of the US Postal Service, written in red. I guess this really is home, now. I'm comfortable, was fed a very nice meal, and have some companionship beyond what I had before. Life is pretty okay right now, at least for today.

Surprise, surprise!

We found a way to save both my character and Brenda's in the Call of Cthulhu game from a nasty engineered virus that was going to kill them dead, dead, dead. My character will basically be an indentured servant of a bunch of Mages, but at least she and the other person will live, so well, okay. Of course, the true horror has arrived because her mother, who has never appeared in the game before has shown up and is having none of her 'paranormal investigating' as a...horrors...job. Celeste comes from a very aristocratic family and her mother is an opera singer, who in her very carrying voice, attended by several minions, made it very clear in the hospital that she would no longer be associating with our group and was coming home to be married off to someone of quality. I think she'll find that Celeste (when she is better; her heart was damaged by a cultist's spell) will not go so gently into that good night, and the Mages have a claim over her, anyway. But it's been a good run as an investigator. Her most memorable line was when she discovered footprints and declared them to be giant floppy clown shoes. Hey, she knows her shoes. And she was right, as the adventure, if I remember right, was called 'Killer Cannibal Clowns'.

Anyway, it was a good game. It's so weird to not be going home after it ended. I'm not used to the fact that I'm home already. I started doing a computer backup but a friend of YKWIA's called, so I put the last of the laundry away, took my things to my room, put the fans on, turned on some music, plumped up the pillows, burned a lavender soy candle for awhile, and went through some random shells and stones that I put out around the room, although there is an entire bag left. But I found a space for that, too. I've gotten ready for bed and set my alarm. I'm working from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm tomorrow and Wednesday, our busiest days, but the whole week is supposed to be busy, I think. I didn't see the numbers, as they hadn't come out yet and I was off on Friday. That extra day really helped. I'm much more rested, feel better, and my knee and ankles are doing much better. I really was hobbling around on my right knee. But I should go to bed soon; I have to get up about 5:45 or 6:00 am to get to work with time for the traffic and the shuttle. Good night.

So I

finally got everything put away and it turned out to be very cosy. And I think I've finally gotten rest and my ankles are not swollen to the size of softballs. :) It is a bit of a cross between a little girl's room and an old lady's, I think, but I'm sort of in the middle, so I guess that works out.

Checking in

I know it's been awhile. I finally have recovered from the move. Everything is either in storage or put away in my new place, or at least the stuff I was able to get out of the apartment. I called to apologise again, and to see how much I owed them. The final bill hasn't been tallied, but it looks like they are going to charge me a lot for the stuff they had to carry out, which I didn't really consider when I left it, I was so tired, and really, there was no way to get it out in time. So it is what it is. She's thinking it may be upwards of $2000, which I'm still shocked at, but I don't think I have a defence as to why I shouldn't pay it. I didn't think there was quite that much left. So this has been a pretty expensive move.

But at least it's over. I took a few last things to storage today. YKWIA and I finally had our lunch buffet at Masala for his birthday. We've been working on finding places for the food and other items I brought with me. I found a place for my wine and accessories for libations (in a cubby hole in my bed) rather than out in his very Jewish home. We've been getting used to living with someone else, and it's gone pretty well. And I finally got some rest. My boss let me off on Friday due to a low census (although the coming week will be high numbers), and I got a lot done yesterday and today.

I finally finished the notes, just now, for the Call of Cthulhu game. We're going to play tomorrow. I'm doing a little laundry. I just have to put my clothes away and I think I'm done for the night. Hope you're having a pleasant weekend. Sorry I haven't blogged.

I really tried, but

I give up. There is still too much to do and not enough time to finish it. It is almost 1 am. I have to be at work in 7 hours. It was a valiant effort, and today I had some help. But it's not enough. I have all the stuff I wanted to keep. But there are things I'd wanted to take out and things I wanted to donate, and they're still there. I'll turn the keys in early tomorrow before they open with a note of apology. It was just too much, and even though I've been working on this for what seems like forever, that couldn't be changed. But I downsized a lot. I feel like I purged a lot of stuff. I'm just sorry I couldn't present the apartment in the condition I wanted. It means I won't get my deposit back, but really, at this point, I am so tired I feel sick, and I don't care anymore. I do care about the fact that they've been very good to me in general and gave me an extension. I wanted to do things right for that reason. But it was illogical to keep going when it was still going to lead to failure. I'm headed to bed, assuming my legs, which are terribly swollen despite a diuretic and in pain, will let me sleep. Good night.

Do I look as tired as I feel?

I am so over this move. Only a few hours left.

So tired

Most of my earthly possessions now reside in a 10'x15' storage unit, which is now completely full. The bread machine is my friend's, as we switched out machines since mine is superior. A few items are in a closet, a cedar chest, the bed, and lying in a pile at the foot of my bed to be put away tomorrow. Still have to take things to Goodwill and books to the library--and clean, all tonight. Not sure I can do all that. It's 9 pm now, and I have to work tomorrow. We'll see. But I'm drinking water and resting for a few minutes before going back over there.

I was exhausted last night

I wound up, after coming home, taking a shower, and blogging just a bit, going to bed about 11 pm. So even though I meant to get up at my usual 6 am, I slept in till 8, whereupon I was awakened by a hungry cat. We had agreed that I wouldn't feed them in the morning so it wouldn't set a precedent of barking, etc. Now YKWIA has woken up and is doing it instead. The plan is to put some clothes on, go get some caffeine, and start working again. We both had bizarre dreams, apparently.

Okay, I'll sign off here for now. Have a good morning.

I am STILL moving

I got an extension from my leasing agent because there was just so much to go through. The big stuff all got moved on Tuesday, along with about 50 boxes of books. The guys took my dresser, chest of drawers, and love seat out to the approved Dumpster area. They were competent and speedy. It took a little less than four hours. I tipped each one enough to get some lunch. They were carrying boxes of books out two at a time. Ah, to be young again. I highly recommend Wildcat Moving. They were very professional and everything worked well. They stacked things very well, using as much space as possible in my storage unit. There were other things I'll need to take out. I'm almost finished. I need to take my comics, the Rosemoon Guild files, a couple of cherry tables, the dining room table, and a few other things to storage, along with several boxes of kitchen things, one of which (the dishes) hasn't been packed yet. Then the fun begins. There's approximately 12 boxes' worth of books to go to the library as a donation. There is easily an entire carload of things for charity. There is a lot of trash and recyclables, too. Then I have to clean. I'm going to work all tomorrow, starting early. I was going to try to work last night, but after working all day at the medical centre, I only got about four hours in before becoming pooped. It's just as well that I didn't because 1) apparently there are special characters in the code for the gate at the storage area that I'd forgotten, and I wouldn't have been able to get in, 2) I decided that moving stuff into a storage unit at 3:30 in the morning, when you're a woman and alone, might not be the best plan, even though they have security, and 3) it was raining cats and dogs, and I'm moving cardboard boxes and things like acrylic paintings. It was cloudy today, but the rain left over from Hurricane Harvey has passed, and it just spit a little rain here and there.

Today I worked for over twelve hours. I am tired. We were supposed to go out to the Indian restaurant (Masala, in Beaumont) today for YKWIA's birthday, but we postponed it for the move. I didn't take a shower this morning and I was sweaty and let's say, fragrant. So I just took a shower and I feel much better. I'm just waiting for my hair to dry to go to bed. Tomorrow's agenda, beyond the apartment, is to put away a couple of boxes' worth of things I brought to the house, set up the printer, take my battery backup/surge protector and put it on the computer YKWIA is using, go over some financial stuff, and do some laundry. That's enough. Maybe we'll be able to go to Masala on Monday since I'm off.

I am getting very sleepy. I'm tired. I think my hair is dry enough, anyway, to not hurt the pillow. I think it's time to turn in for the night.